When the Future Chief of Staff ...

Today, the wick burned out. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), a friend of the President and his Chicago entourage, said that Rep. Joe Sestak, the new Democratic Senate nominee from Pennsylvania, should provide a fuller accounting of his conversation with Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff, ahead of the primary race. "At some point I thing Congressman Sestak needs to make it clear what happened," he told CNN.

Now, Durbin isn't really the future chief of staff. But he might be. He's certainly a logical candidate to replace Emanuel, who has said he'll likely step down after two years. Point is: he's a very influential guy within the gates.

Administration officials are hinting that the White House will formally address the matter within a few days. That could mean the disclosure of an internal investigation, or the offering of new guidelines, or a statement from Emanuel and whoever else might have talked to Sestak.

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Marc Ambinder is an Atlantic contributing editor. He is also a senior contributor at Defense One, a contributing editor at GQ, and a regular contributor at The Week.